Locked in the Past
by Ashlyn-i
Summary: Whilst exploring the TARDIS, Amy stumbles upon a concept that she has never considered: Had the Doctor really have anyone before her? Because to her, he'd always been her Doctor. Later the Doctor must make another visit, place another box, say another farewell... (2nd chapter up based off the last episode with the Ponds)
1. The Locked Room

I had this idea about Amy discovering the Doctor's past locked away, becuase the Doctor never seems to mention his previous life to Amy. Other than River Song, there don't appear now to be any connections to the previous regeneration. But there musts be reminders left behind by previous companions. And so I got to wondering, if there are reminders, where would the Doctor put them.

And so this fic came to be.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dr Who. Can't wait for the new series! :D

* * *

If there was one thing that Amy loved doing on the TARDIS, it was playing hide-and-seek. Sure, it seemed childish when the Doctor first suggested it, but that was before she really discovered how big the TARDIS really was; how many different rooms there were; the never-ending corridors that somehow always managed to loop back to where she started despite all she could try to avoid it.

Often, when the Doctor was taking them to a time out of the norm, when they had a moment or two on their hands, when they were really bored, Amy would suggest a game. The Doctor and Rory would exchange a meaningful glance and then the Doctor would always volunteer to count first, just to show-off the fact that he could count to over a million whilst doing something completely different which would have distracted someone else in under three seconds, like piloting the TARDIS or making sardine jam.

And nearly every time, Amy would exit by the same door, take the same right turn, go up the same flight of stairs, and follow the same zigzag path until she found the little locked door. She would try the handle time and time again and, every time, it would be locked.

She had first discovered this door shortly after Rory had joined the TARDIS crew. They had journeying to a distant planet called Isolation, because it was practically in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothingness, yet, according to the Doctor, it had some of the most impressive caves in all of time and space. The Doctor had disappeared to do something or other and Amy had decided to go exploring the TARDIS' upper levels.

He'd been leaving when she'd come across him. She was going to call out to him, but something about the way he left, checking to see whether anyone was nearby, made her stop. After he'd gone, she'd tried to get in. But it had been locked and had been ever since.

This time, Amy was determined to get in. So determined, that she had "borrowed" the Doctor's sonic screwdriver when he wasn't looking.

'Let's play a game,' she said as the Doctor toyed with the TARDIS' controls.

'What kind of game?' the Doctor asked, humouring her. Rory rolled his eyes.

'What kind of game does she always want to play?' he asked. He slid along the bar he was leaning against until he was right next to her, staring deep into her eyes. 'If I didn't know you better,' he said, 'I'd say you were up to something.'

Amy was tempted to say, well you don't know me better, but bit her tongue. Instead, she forced a laugh and said playfully, 'oh, I so am!'

Rory grinned and pulled her closer to him. Amy squealed, giggled and kissed him. They swayed together for a moment, but Amy brought them back to reality with, 'can we play?'

Rory kissed her nose and looked at the Doctor. The Doctor sighed and said, 'alright, so and hide and I'll come looking for you soon. Besides,' he said, turning and heading in the direction of a kitchen, 'we're low on sardine jam!' His counting echoed back to them down the long metal corridors.

Amy and Rory looked at each other for a moment and then split up, heading for different exits. After running up the staircase, Amy paused to make sure Rory wasn't following her before withdrawing the sonic screwdriver from her pocket and advancing steadily down the corridor towards the locked door, the Doctor's counting ringing in her ears. _Thirty nine, forty, forty one, forty two…_

Amy clicked the button in the direction of the door's lock. She heard the familiar click and slipped in. _Fifty, fifty one, fifty two, fifty three…_

The room was dark and completely shut out all noise from the outside. Amy fumbled for the light switch, found something beneath her fingers and pressed it. A light flickered on.

The room was small compared to every other room Amy had seen on board the TARDIS, though any room would feel smaller if it was crammed full of boxes. Amy stared in bewilderment at them, stacked one on top of the other, different shapes, sizes, colours. They were all labelled, although many were in a language Amy couldn't read. Ancient Gallifreian, Amy thought.

Curious, Amy picked one of the boxes closest to her at random and opened it. The first thing was a small notebook which someone, most likely the Doctor (although the handwriting was less angular and neater than the writing of the Doctor Amy knew), had titled "_People to revisit_".

Amy flicked through the list. It was very, very long. Amy didn't doubt that when the day came when she and Rory inevitably did leave the TARDIS, their names would be added to the bottom.

Amy rechecked the list to see whether she knew any of them and realised with a jolt that she knew quite a few. Names like "Elizabeth the first" jumped out at her and someone had scrawled "_be careful on departure, you know what she's like_" right next to it. The last names on the list were "Kazran Sardick" and "Marylyn Monroe". The side-note next to Marylyn was, in capitals, "_Never Again_!" Amy almost laughed.

Having another quick look back at the box, Amy realised that the Doctor appeared to have quite a collection of random objects from the people, she presumed, were listed in the notebook. There was quite a range from Marylyn Monroe's signature, to a golden crown, to a stethoscope with the name label "Martha Jones" on it.

When Amy eventually got bored of rummaging through the trinkets that the Doctor had picked up from "friends", she put everything back and closed the box. She picked another further in and waded through the stacks towards it. The first thing at the very top of the box was an indigo coloured jacket. Leathery, Amy thought as she picked it up. She studied it for a while, fingering its sleeves and collar.

This was most definitely not the Doctor's, so Amy guessed that it belonged to a previous companion and then her brain ground to a halt. Had the Doctor had female friends who had travelled with him before her? She'd never really thought about it. She had assumed that the first box had contained one time friends, like Marylyn. She'd never considered him to have had another friend who'd come with him like she had. To her, he'd always been her Doctor.

Amy wasn't sure how long she stood there, trying to get her head around the thought that the Doctor might have had other females other than her. Then she thought about River Song and it became easier in a way until another little thought wiggled its way into the spotlight: had the Doctor had romantic relationships with these companions like he was going to have with River?

Once again, Amy's brain shut down. At first, she couldn't imagine anyone having a romantic relationship with her Doctor until she pointed out to herself that she had tried to.

Amy checked the jacket for a nametag, but there wasn't one. She lifted it to her face and smelt it. It smelt flowery. Her interest in the jacket waning, Amy put the jacket to one side and turned her attention back to the box.

A small silver mobile phone lay closest to her. Amy picked it up and turned it on out of interest to see what it held. Several numbers named "Mum" or "Mickey" but Amy didn't ring any of them.

Whoever the jacket belongs to, Amy assumed they were patriotic as out of the box she pulled a union flag and a t-shirt to match. Amy was tempted momentarily to try it on, but decided against it as the Doctor might become suspicious of he found an overstretched t-shirt in the box, because Amy could clearly see that she was taller than this previous friend of his.

Amy discovered next a vase. She wasn't sure of the significance of this vase, except that there was a photo carefully attached to it of a man with thinning ginger hair standing next to a bed in which sat a woman with long thick blonde hair who was holding a baby. They were all smiling, even if the new mother looked slightly tired and irritated. Amy fingered the photo gently, suddenly wishing to be back with her newly rediscovered parents on Earth. Instead she put the vase carefully back in the box and picked up the last item.

Buried right at the bottom of the box, there was a scrapbook: filled with leaflets, stickers and posters of places the companion had been – some that Amy recognised and many that she didn't – interspaced with photos of a blonde woman and a tall good-looking man with spiky brown hair and a long brown coat. Amy flicked though the scrapbook thoughtfully, looking at the varying landscapes and people with whom the couple interacted with. One of the final pictures was of the two of them standing in front of the TARDIS. Someone had written at the bottom right hand corner of the page "_And so it will be, forever!"_

Clearly, it wasn't, Amy thought. I wonder how long it did last for…

The door swung back against the wall and Amy spun round. The Doctor was standing in the doorway, staring at her. There was a strange look in his eyes.

'Um…' Amy said. She had no logical explanation for why she could be in here.

'Come out,' the Doctor said simply. Amy dropped the scrapbook back in the box and hurried out of the door. She glanced at the Doctor as she passed him, but he was staring straight ahead at the indigo jacket lying on the box. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Amy hovered in the corridor waiting for him.

After a while, the Doctor reopened the door and stepped out. He had retrieved his screwdriver and used it to lock the door. Amy waited until he had finished before speaking. 'Doctor, I am so sorry. I know it was none of my business and I know I shouldn't have gone in but I…'

Then the Doctor cut across her. 'Amy, don't lock your past too far from your heart, you won't get far without it. Don't dwell on it either, on what has been and what could have been. Despite all we can do with time travel, we cannot change our past. So don't…' he stopped and took a deep breath.

There was a long pause. Amy felt more awkward than she ever had with the Doctor. But when he reopened his eyes, they were once again filled with the childish joy that Amy had come to know. 'I believe this means I've found you, haven't I?'

Amy nodded, trying to smile, but she couldn't quite do it. The Doctor bounded down the corridor, calling over his shoulder, 'come along, Pond! Let's go and find Rory!'

Amy watched him bounce away. She couldn't stop thinking the room. But possibly the Doctor was right, she thought as she slowly followed the Doctor, the past was the past, the blonde woman had moved on, and this Doctor was hers.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that.

:)


	2. The Doctor's Final Farewell

It is the final farewell to two important characters. Another past for the Doctor. I had to do this.

Spoiler to anyone who hasn't watched the lastest Doctor Who episode (and if you haven't why haven't you?).

* * *

There was another box. The Doctor had it balanced carefully under one arm as he moved along the corridor. As if sensing the purpose of this time, the TARDIS had very carefully straightened the path so that the journey was as simple as putting one foot in front of the other, taking one step at a time, towards the door.

But even that the Doctor was finding difficult. It would have been easier if there was someone else there, River was most predominantly in his mind, but the TARDIS was as empty as it had been before, too many times before.

The Doctor stopped in front of the door. Unlike most of the rooms in the TARDIS, he had designed this one with an old fashioned handle and lock. He liked his TARDIS to be as technical as possible so that it still had the wow-factor to companions, no matter how regular they were.

But this room, this room was his room. He wanted it to be special. Rory had once asked if he had a room... no, not now, don't think like that.

It was funny though. Because he wanted it special, subconsciously he also wanted it not to be noticed. The colour was muted, similar brown to his favourite jacket. The door handle was long and thin and could fit easily into the cup of his palm when he laid his hand across it. The lock was a good old fashioned keyhole, not that he ever used the key. He had lost that ages ago; probably, ironically, it was inside that very room.

He had reached it now. He had to stop in front of it. He stared at the painted front. He could see the wood patterns beneath the paint. He'd need to repaint it at some point.

He reached for his inside jacket pocket, and hesitated. Was this right? Could he really do it? His hand travelled down to rest upon the handle. He curled his fingers around it. No, said a voice in his head, no, I don't want to.

He leaned forwards and rested his head against the door. This was far too definite for him. He couldn't do it. His hand gently pressed down on the handle.

The door swung inwards.

The Doctor almost fell forwards, nearly dropped the box in the process of righting himself. He started, caught the box in both hands and stared into the lit room. With wide eyes, he surveyed the room of boxes, his countless memories of countless friends, countless companions, countless goodbyes...

I didn't leave the door open, thought the Doctor. His wonder at the unlocked door was answered as it slowly swung shut behind him. Thank you old girl, the Doctor blessed his wonderful ship that had known without him saying a word that he needed help with this final journey.

His feet moved devoid of instruction to a place within the stacks. His arms moved up and placed the box down on top. His body turned his back on it.

His mind said, just one more look. Turning back, the Doctor opened the box.

The first item he picked up delicately by the nose was a pair of round reading glasses. He nursed them in his long fingers before placing them to one side and continuing in.

A box which had once held a very important ring; a red pen which had once written a key note; a postcard picturing a famous painting inspired by a redhead; a homemade TARDIS; the menu for a wedding (he hadn't liked any of the choices and so had ended up making himself dinner, and a mess of the kitchen); a camera phone that held a picture and video and, though he could never recall what they looked like, he knew what they meant; a photo of a woman and her baby; a black, plain cube; a golf ball that still had droplets of saliva encrusting its hard outer shell. All these things and more did the Doctor move aside until he saw the final item.

A t-shirt, red in colour, with a picture of the two people to whom all this had belonged to, cropped to fit a heart, lay at the bottom so that their smiling faces stared up at the old Time Lord staring down. And, resting on top, the final page of a special book. The book itself was in different box, for a different person.

He didn't need to read the letter. He'd read it often and could recite it by heart as he did so now.

"Hello old friend..."

Now the items were going back in the box, fitting into the corners like the pieces of a jigsaw: the phone, menu – postcard inside it, red pen, photograph beneath that, cube in corner, the TARDIS in another, the box and golf ball took up the final two. Everything went back in, until all he had out was the Afterward in his hand and the glasses perched on his nose.

Slowly, he came to the last few lines. Slowly, he slid the glasses down and weighed them on a large upturned hand. Then carefully they were placed within and the box was shut.

The Doctor turned and retreated from the room. At the door he stopped and turned back. His eyes roamed the stacks until they alighted on the box: the box labelled "Ponds".

The Doctor sniffed. He switched off the light and closed the door, bringing to a close his last farewell.

Walking away with heavy footfalls, words drifted through his mind, a story to tell a little girl. With each line, his tread grew lighter and spring appeared once more in his step.

"_Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates._"

A laugh escaped his lips as he entered the control room.

"_She'll fall in love with a man who will wait 2000 years to keep her safe."_

The room buzzed with energy as he danced around the central space.

"_Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived and save a whale in outer space."_

Memories of magic, wonder and adventure, but mostly of two so special companions, tumbled like waves that had spent their time in bottles on a rollercoaster and someone had unleashed within his mind. With a leap and a jump, he was next to the doors...

"_Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond, and this is how it ends..."_

... And waiting outside them was a little girl with bright red hair and eager eyes, just like woman he had had left behind. To him, she gone, had said her final farewell, now locked in his past forever; but to this child, it had all to happen, a bright future to look forward to, definitely one to hope for.

This is the story of Amelia Pond, the Doctor thought as he sat down in front of his old, new, borrowed blue box next to this little girl.

Let's make it a good one.

* * *

I had to end this on a high, because ultimately they did live life happily.

So farewell, Amelia Pond and Rory Williams. You shall be missed.


End file.
